


Combat Baby

by turnyourankle



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-11
Updated: 2007-04-11
Packaged: 2018-04-21 09:45:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4824239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turnyourankle/pseuds/turnyourankle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cody's idea of bonding is telling Justin about the first time he got beat up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Combat Baby

Cody's idea of bonding is telling Justin about the first time he got beat up: he was 14 and he got mugged outside of a movie theatre. He only had a few bucks and a half empty bag of M&Ms. That wasn't enough for the guy doing the mugging, and he'd ended up on the receiving end of a few punches and kicks for looking too closely at the guy's face. Cody spits out the word victim like it's disease you bring on yourself, and Justin watches his feet as they hit the pavement in front of him. 

"The second time," Cody continues, "I fought back." A toothy grin shows up on Cody's face, and it's the first time Justin sees him smile. It's the same kind of smile that Gus has when he gets the candy he wants, but on Cody it looks threatening. Like a hunting dog that found a prey willing to fight. "It was the greatest high one could ever get, you'll never want to do drugs again."

Justin nods absentmindedly, the street has grown thicker with bodies, and he's anxious to see if anyone reacts differently to him. He knows he doesn't have a scar from the bashing, he spent almost an hour looking at the spot where the doctors told him he was hit, looking for some sort of trace. There's nothing there. He still feels it burning though; he imagines it an angry red, attracting stares. Cody told him that the reason they shaved their heads was to be uniform: an unidentified mass of people that could strike at anytime. Justin knows it's more than that, baring your head makes you feel vulnerable, like everyone could attack you at any time; puts you on the offensive. Cody wouldn't have made the hair shedding process such a ceremony if that wasn't part of it. No one looks at him twice, and Justin tells himself he can't see the stares for all the sun in his eyes. 

Justin realizes he hasn't been paying attention when Cody grabs the hem of his jeans and reels him into a kiss. He bites Justin's lip, as if the provocation's a game, as if to say that the more pain he feels now the better he'll feel later. Cody's hands are at the back of Justin's neck, one sweaty palm pressed against the base of his skull, fingers brushing up against newly sheared hair. Justin waits for the high to kick in, like it's supposed to, but there's only surprise and anticipation for the verbal punch he's come to expect whenever he strays from Liberty avenue. There was no high, and no adrenaline, just the tingle of having a new pair of lips against his. The kiss ends as abruptly as it started, leaving Justin static on the street.

"You have to be prepared," Cody says as his pace quickens and he crosses the street against the light, "it comes slowly, and then suddenly." Justin follows Cody, plunging into the street, stepping of the sidewalk as one would step off the edge of a cliff.


End file.
